Chicago Newspaper Pulls Doonesbury Strip Over Charity Appeal

The Chicago Tribune declined to publish Friday's edition of the long-running comic strip Doonesbury because it featured a QR code readers could scan with smartphones to make contributions to education site DonorsChoose.org, reports The Washington Post.

In a panel with the scannable graphic, character Zonker Harris encourages people to give to DonorsChoose.org, which allows contributors to direct money to projects at specific schools. In a note to readers, the newspaper said the "direct fundraising appeal for a specific charity," violated its editorial practices, which "do not allow individuals to promote their self-interests."

Mr. Trudeau—who said his son, a high-school teacher, has used DonorsChoose.org to raise money for classroom supplies—said the Tribune ran a 2007 strip that also plugged the site but added, "I try not to second-guess editors; they’re the clients, and I have no expectation that my strip is going to make it into every paper every day."